Railroad-track-laying apparatus.



No. 739,874. BATENTED'SEPT. 29, 1903. J. Mj.y RAILROAD TRACK', LAYER@AEPARATUS. Hummm-1L" mm. mn., m 1m- A -J MTW EEE FLIFTU'Q* y .MM WM fr@M, #MM

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"PATENTED SEPT. 29, 190s.

110.739,874. J. M. G. HOWELL.

RAILROAD TRACK LAYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATIONv FILED MAR. 3.41902.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-'

N0 MODEL.

UNITEDy STATES Patented September 29, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

`RAILR.OA-DeTRACK-LAYING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part f Letters Patent N 0. 739,874, datedSeptember 29, 1903.

Application filed March 3, 1902. Serial No. 96,375. (No model.)

T0 all whom t may cm1/067%:

Beit known that I, JOHN M. C. HOWELL, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Mascot, in the county of Knoxand State of Tennessee, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvementsin Railroad-Track-Layin g-Ap paratus; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable otherswithout the consequent interruption of the useof the track for the passage of trains. At present when worn-out tiesare to be removed and replaced by newties on railroad trestles andbridges danger-ilags are set upon the track in both directions from thepoint of operation and the track-rails and guard-rails beneath which thedefective tie or ties rest are removed. Then the defective tie or tiesare taken up and the new tie or ties put into place. Then thetrack-rails-and guard-rails are again replaced. The labor of removingand replacing the track-rails and guard-rails is much greater than theobjective task to be performedmnamely, the removing and replacing of thedefective tie or ties. Furthermore, during this tedious operation asection of the track has been taken out, and trains cannot pass.

By the use 4of my improved apparatus the track remains continuous, andthe`operation may be suspended at any time for the passage of a train.One of the guard-rails is removed, and the tie which is to be removed isreleased by the withdrawal of its spikes and the slight raising of theadjacent ties, (with, of course, the track and guard rails.)

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan showing my apparatus inposition and yis placed for insertion or removal. .a detailplanillustrating the manner of joinin'g the fixed and hinged side bars of myapparatus loosely through the ends of the piece 2.

'tion of my apparatus being in the vertical position-the position intowhich said section Fig. 6 is Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the fixedside bar shown in Fig. 6.

Referring to said drawings, A A are the longitudinal sills or girders ofa railway trestle orbridge.

B B are the ties resting transversely uponl the sills. Said ties arePreferably provided with notches B" in their under faces, intol whichthe sills extend.

C C are the track-rails.

C" O are the spikes, by means of which the` rails C are secured to theties.

D D are the guard-rails. In the form illustrated lby the drawings,

but which may be varied, my apparatus consists of three principalfactors-stirrups applied to the ties, relatively x'edside bars securedin part by saidY stirrups, and a tiereceiving section or frame hinged tosaid side bars. The stirrups (designated l l) are secured to the ties ateach side of the tie which is to be removed. Each of said stirrups iscomposed of a rigid piece 2, shaped to extend around one side and thetop and bottom of a tie and having at its lower portion a lateralextension 3 and a bolt or pin 4, extending If said part 4. is a bolt,its lower endmay be tapped into the lower end of the piece 2, so thatwhen said stirrup is placed into position around a tie the stirrup maybe tightened to the tie by turning said bolt. Side bars 5 5 support saidhinged section. 'One end of each such side bar enters the lateraleXtension 3 of the stirrup 1. Said end of said side bar is preferably,provided with a shoulder G, which serves to limit the movement of saidICO bar into said stirrup. Said bar rests upon the sills A, adjacent towhich the guard-rail has been removed, and extends outward away from thetrack beyond said sill, and the portion of said bar at the outer side ofsaid sill is lowered, so as to bring the upper edge of said barsubstantially to a level with the upper face of said sill. Each bar 5has at the inner side of said sill a shoulder or stop 5, which prevent-sthe movement of said bar across said sill away from the stirrup. Nearits outer end said bar has a stirrup 7, extending downward around saidbar and being opened sufiieientlyatt-he side of said baraway from thelongitudinal middle line of said apparatus to receive the side bar ofthe hinged section. Near its middle the upper edge of said side bar isprovided with a notch 8. Said hinged section is designated by 9. Saidsection is in the form of a frame composed of side bars 10 10,cross-bars 11 11, slats 12 12, and rollers 13 13. Each of said side bars`has a journal 14, adapted to rest in one of the notches S of the sidebars 5 5. Each of said side bars 10 rests upon the adjacent stirrup 7,and each side bar 10 has adjacent to the free end of the adjoining sidebar 5 a stirrup 15, extending over the side bar 10 andthe adjacent sidebar 5, and each side bar 10 has at its free end astirrup 16, extendingbeneath said side bar and the adjacent side bar 5. By this arrangementof said stirrups said hinged section 9 is permitted to turn from thehorizontal to the vertical position, and vice versa, the outer endmoving in an aro above the horizontal plane; but said section isprevented from descending at its outer end below the horizontal. Inother words, the side bars 10 are securely held to the side bars 5 bysaid stirrups when said hinged section has been lowered into thehorizontal position.

lVhen atie is to be removed, the stirrups 1 and the side bars 5 are putinto position at opposite sides of said tie, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5,the guard-rail D, adjacent to the free ends of said side bars, beingremoved. The hinged section 9 is then placed vertically into theposition shown by Fig. 5, the free ends of the arms of the side bars 1010 passing downward between the adjacent sillAand thetrackrail C, andthe journals 14 being placed into the notches S. This may be easilyaccomplished by men standing upon the structure, no portion of saidsection at the time extending laterally beyond the trestle or bridge.The upper end of said section is then allowed to move outward, saidsection turning upon said journals. For convenience in lowering saidsection, staying the tie while in the horizontal position, and afterwarddrawing it again into the vertical position for removal guy-ropes 17 maybe applied at each side of the outer end of said section.

To free the tie to be removed, its spikes are withdrawn and the adjacentties are by any suitable means raised from the sills A A sufficiently topermit the raising of said tie so as to disengage the sills from thenotches B. By means of picks or any other suitable tools the tie to beremoved is then drawn lengthwise out upon the section 9 until the innerend of. the tie has passed the rail C which is adjacent to said section.The portion of said section comprising the rollers 13 and the slats 12constitutes a surface for receiving the tie. The tie is then engaged inany suitable manner and drawn upward upon the track or dumped away fromthe bridge or trestle. The new tie is then placed upon said section inthe position shown in Fig. 1 and drawn inward beneath the rails C C intothe position occupied bythe tie just removed.

Spikes are then driven into said new tie andthe guard-rail replaced. Thelowering of the adjacent ties and the removal of the apparatus completesthe operation.

If at any time during the progress of the operation a train comes,-theoperation may be suspended long enough to permit the train to pass, thetrack being capable of supporting the train notwithstanding the removalof one tie.

1f the side bars 10 10 of the hinged section 9 are not high enough toprevent the lateral movement of the tie while on said section, guards 181S, rising above said side bars, may be applied to said section.

The section 9 and the bars 5 may be regal-ded as a single structure, thebars 5 and the bars 10 being considered as compound arms of the section9. It will be observed that when the apparatus is in the workingposition said bars 5 really serve as continuations of the bars 10, andthe stirrups 1, applied to the bars 5, serve essentially the same asthey would if applied directly to the bars 10. The sectional traine 9may be regarded as a bifurcated structure, one of each of its two armsbeing adapted to enter the space at each side of the tie.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a railroad-track-laying apparatus, aframe or support having a tie-receiving surface and two side barsparallel to each other and extending away from said surface in a planehigher than and parallel to the plane of said surface and suitablyseparated from each other to enter the spaces at each side of a tie in arailroad bridge or trestle.

2. A railroad-track-laying apparatus consisting of a bifureatedstructure having arms or side bars suitably separated to extend over asill and at each side of a tie and said structure having a tie-receivingsurface lower than the portions of said arms which are to rest on thebridge-sill, substantially as described.

IOO

IIO

3. A railroad-track-laying apparatus con- Igc or side bars suitablyseparated to extend over a sill and atl each side offa Jfie, and meansfor hinging said bifurcated structure to the bridge or trestlestructure, substantially as described. l

5. In a railroad-track-laying apparatus, the combination of bars, 5,adapted to be secured in adjacent spaces between ties in a railroadbridge or trestle, and a section, 9, having a tie-receiving surface andtwo side bars parallel to each other and extending away from saidsurface in a plane parallel to the plane of said surface and hingedtovsaid bars, 5.

6. In a railroad-track-layin g apparatus, the combination of bars, 5,stirru ps, l, for securing said bars, and a section, 9, hinged to saidbars, substantially as'described.

'7. In a rai1road-tracklayin g apparatus, the combination of bars, 5,adapted to be secured in adjacent spaces between ties in a railroadbridge or trestle, and a section, 9, having a tie-receiving surface andtwo side bars parallel to each other and extending away from saidsurface in a plane parallel to the plane combination of bars, 5, havingshoulders, 5,

and, 6, stirrups, 1, and a section, 9, hinged to said bars,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses, this 21st day of February, in the year1902.

JOHN M. C. HOWELL.

Witnesses:

CYRUs KEHR, ROBERT PFLANZE..

